Original Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WLjDuKlO77m3ykbCbVY1KJBr1B1d1ZKhdNr8bdkjp8I/edit

“Obsidian is gone?” Twilight wondered. “What do you mean he’s gone?”

“I don’t know! He’s not home!” Fluttershy replied.

“Darling, calm down. He might just be patrolling or hunting demons again,” Rarity figured.

“Rarity... When he says he will be back at a certain time, he always comes at that time. It is very unusual for him to be this late!” Fluttershy argued.

“Just wait a bit, sugarcube. He’ll come back eventually. It’s not the first time he’d gone hiddin’ in the shadows,” Applejack stated.

“No, Applejack. This time is different. He went away without telling me. He is in trouble! I just know it!” the yellow mare responded.

“What makes you so sure of that?” Twilight wondered.

“I... I can’t really explain it. There is a special connection between us. Since he taught me how to deal with darkness, I can sense several things more. We just have to find him!” Fluttershy insisted.

“Gee, Fluttershy! He’s a big, strong warrior! He can take care of himself, as ya know! Why do ya panic so much?” Applejack wondered.

“Because... because...” the yellow mare started.

She was well aware the black stallion didn’t have much time left. Fluttershy feared that she would not be able to be there when his final hour would come. Despite how much it would hurt her, she wanted to be by his side when the moment came. Yet, just like Twilight, she promised to not tell anypony else about his approaching end. She loved and trusted him just too much to break this promise. Fluttershy refocused her friends with and expression of desperation they didn’t know from her.

“Can we just look for him, please?” she begged with tears in her eyes.

“Oh my stars, darling... You’re really worried, aren’t you?” Rarity asked.

Fluttershy just nodded, trying to put herself together again.

“Well, Fluttershy knows Obsidian better than all of us together. If she says something is wrong, then we should trust her word. Let’s go get Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, then we will start looking for him. We will meet again at the marketplace in two hours, should the search be fruitless,” Twilight suggested.

“Roger that! C’mon Rarity!” Applejack spoke and started running off with the fashion diva into search for their two friends.

Twilight was about to go as well when Fluttershy spoke up again.

“Twilight...Wait a moment, please...” she requested.

“Yes, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

“You know why I’m so worried, right? He wants you to do it... The Tradition...right?” the yellow mare asked.

“So he told you... Well... yes,” Twilight replied.

“Are you... going to do it?” Fluttershy wondered.

“I don’t know... He got the right intentions, but I don’t know if I could kill a friend. Also... I’m really scared of what I’d become... But the thing I fear the most is hurting you, Fluttershy. I know you really love him with all your heart... I don’t want to risk our friendship,” the purple mare replied.

A moment of silence passed, the two mares staring at the ground with thoughtful and depressed faces.

“This isn’t fair... This just isn’t fair. I’ve finally found a stallion for myself and now he’s going to die...” Fluttershy spoke, a tear rolling down her face. “I... I just wanted to tell you that I won’t be mad at you if you do it... Obsidian always has a reason for his actions and if he asks you for such a thing, then that too has a reason.”

“Thank you... this makes it easier for me... Anyway, let’s go find him!” Twilight stated.

The yellow mare nodded in agreement. Then, they too went searching.

---

Two hours of search passed. It was getting dark and the group met up at the marketplace again. By now, they all had worry written on their faces.

“Well? Any success?” Twilight asked.

“Nope, sorry. By the way, have y’all seen Pinkie and Rainbow? Ah just can’t find ‘em,” Applejack wondered.

“No. I didn’t see Rainbow since she went racing with Obsidian and I haven’t seen Pinkie all day,” Fluttershy stated.

“I also didn’t have any luck in finding any of them. What about you, Rarity?” Twilight asked.

“Well Rainbow doesn’t seem to be at home. I went to her cloud house and called for her several times. I even asked another Pegasus to fly up and see if she’s there, but he said there was only a turtle,” Rarity explained.

“Sheesh. I’ve been at Sugarcube Corner, but the Cakes said Pinkie wasn’t home. Where are they? It’s like they just disappeared!” Applejack stated.

“D-d-do you think Slendermane returned to Ponyville?” Fluttershy asked with a shaky voice.

“With the reapers around and the third corrupted star coming, not very likely. But something is definitely going on!” Twilight stated.

“Obsidian disappearing is one thing. But Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash? Maybe we should ask Derpy to help us search for them,” Rarity suggested.

“Good idea, Rarity. Don’t worry, Fluttershy. We will keep searching until we find them! Let’s go, girls! We haven’t been in Everfree Forest yet!” Twilight stated.

“Oh, I just hope they are alright...” the yellow mare worried.

---

Despite the best efforts and even with the support of Derpy Hooves, the group couldn’t find their missing friends. Obsidian, though, was never far away from them the whole time. He spent the entire day running and hiding from an enemy chasing after him. An enemy so strong that even he would have difficulties in a battle against it, although it was no demon.

It was already late at night when the reaper had to leave his cover and ran through Whitetail Wood. He was still being chased. Obsidian knew it would have consequences if he interfered and now he had to deal with them. He was not sure what to do. The black stallion could not just stop and face his enemy. He knew it was at least as stealthy as he was and also very combat trained. Running away was no option either. From this one, it was impossible to escape.

While the black stallion tried to come up with a plan, a familiar voice started bothering him.

“Obsidian. We need to talk,” Odd Cirs spoke.

“Not now,” Obsidian replied, still running.

“Yes, now. This is our last chance,” the voice insisted.

“You are planning to leave me? That is only to my advantage,” the reaper stated coldly.

“I’m not going anywhere unless you finally figure out my name,” Odd Cirs replied.

“As I said. Not now. I have to deal with this first. She is still closely behind us,” Obsidian explained.

“Oh, you need time? You can get time! She will have to wait. This is more important now,” the voice stated.

A bright light appeared around the reaper. A moment later, he found himself on the other end of the forest.

“You possess teleporting abilities?!” the reaper spoke in surprise.

“Of course I do! I can do much more than that! Or well, at least I used to be able to,” Odd Cirs stated.

“Why did you wait to use your powers until now? This is not the right moment, Odd Cirs! We must not lose her and she must not lose track of us!” the reaper explained.

“Ah, you know her, Obsidian. She will find us, no matter what. This just buys us some time, nothing more,” the voice spoke.

Obsidian just remained silent and made an angered expression. He really had much more important things to do than to deal with this strange voice. In all the time they spent together, Obsidian never cared for Odd Cirs enough to even think about him much.

“To answer your question: I was unable to use my powers until you know what happened,” Odd Cirs answered suddenly.

This statement made the reaper’s eyes go wide open and change his expression to a shocked one.

“You have a connection to the keepers of harmony?” he asked.

“You could say that! I met them in person! They are the reason why I am what I am now,” Odd Cirs answered.

This just changed everything. All the time, the voice held back informations which might have been important for his mission. Odd Cirs just waited for the right moment and toyed with Obsidian the whole time. Now, the reaper just had to know it.

“Who are you truly, Odd Cirs?” the reaper wondered.

“As I said, you have to find that out. Since this is your last chance, you really should get to it now, Obsidian,” the voice stated.

The reaper figured that he would not stop bothering him until this mystery was solved anyway. So he sunk into his thoughts, gathering all the informations he had about Odd Cirs. This, though, proved to be not very much. All Obsidian clearly knew was that Odd Cirs somehow depended on him and needed him for his own plan.

The strangest thing about this voice was how it named itself, though. Odd Cirs. Who would come up with such a name? Obsidian had to admit that something was curious about this name. It was strangely familiar, but he just couldn’t tell in what way.

“So did you enjoy betraying your own friends, Obsidian?” Odd Cirs wondered.

“Silēns es...” the reaper growled lightly.

“Well, although this is not usually my thing, I really enjoyed it. I hate those six ponies! They ruined everything!” the voice stated.

Never before has Odd Cirs spoken out a personal dislike about the keepers of harmony. It was clear to Obsidian that he was giving out hints now. It didn’t quite dawn on the reaper yet. Why was this name so familiar? And what business did he have with the six mares?

Odd Cirs began to chuckle a bit. He seemed to be excited and amused about the fact that Obsidian finally tried to figure out who he was.

“The answer is a curious thing,
no one knows what it will bring.

But if you want to find out more,
you have to think back into lore.

And to stop making your head revolve,
an anagram you have to solve,” the voice suddenly started rhyming.

More hints for Obsidian. It seemed like Odd Cirs really wanted to get this dealt with now.

The reaper tried to put it all together: a connection to the keepers of harmony, a mark left in pony history and an anagram.

An anagram? Was he hinting on his name? Was that the reason it always sounded so strange? How did all this fit together?

Obsidian started rearranging the letters of the voice’s name in his head. He tried to get a first and last name out of it, but he came up with nothing that would make sense or sound familiar. So the reaper began mixing up all the letters to try to create a single word.

“Well, although I don’t like the keepers of harmony very much, I have to say Pinkie Pie was a personal favorite of mine. We both had a lot in common. Like how much we enjoyed a good laugh and were quite chaotic. Don’t you think so too, Obsidian?” Odd Cirs wondered.

It seemed as if the voice was expecting the black stallion to understand now. Indeed, it started getting through to him now, filling his mind with more and more shock as he put the things together.

Laughing, chaotic personality... Obsidian figured out the voice’s anagram.

“Yes. You two had several things in common, Discord,” the reaper answered.

The voice began to laugh out loudly and the wind started blowing in circles around the reaper. As the laughter filled the air, it also seemed to fill the wind with small, lightly glowing particles that clustered together more and more. Finally, the spirit of chaos and disharmony appeared right in front of the reaper. But something was strange about Discord. He was white and seethrough. This, though, didn’t surprise Obsidian much.

“It is about time you finally figured it out! I really started getting bored being just a shapeless voice!” Discord stated.

“It is not like you are a lot more in this form either,” Obsidian countered with a despise filled expression.

“So you got it all figured out now, haven’t you?” Discord asked.

“Equidem. I understand. You have been purified by the elements of harmony once before. No creature of chaos, evil or disharmony can possibly survive a second purification. Your body did not just turn back into stone. You lost your grip on it entirely. You are nothing but a spirit anymore,” Obsidian explained.

“Well, I’ve always been the spirit of chaos and disharmony. That’s nothing new. But you are right. Without my draconequus body, I shouldn’t technically exist anymore. But you know what, Obsidian? There still is chaos and disharmony in this land, even without my influence! Just enough to keep me existing in my spirit form,” Discord stated.

“Yet I do not understand why you chose to follow me of all creatures,” Obsidian spoke.

“Oh, I didn’t choose anything! I was forced to stick around you! You for some reason were the only being I could continue existing around. I myself didn’t really understand why for quite a while,” the spirit explained.

“Existence... a strange word for you to use to describe your status. How does it feel to basically not really exist anymore? How does it feel to once have been a mighty creature and now being nothing more but a poltergeist?” the reaper started mocking.

Discords face became serious and displeased, only to slide into a mischievous smile moments later.

“You are one to say such a thing, Obsidian. You are not a single bit better. You are just as helplessly depending on destiny and empty on the inside as I am,” the spirit countered.

Obsidian looked to the ground. Discord got him there. Despite the reapers best efforts, he didn’t have the ability to change destiny and only Fluttershy would know even better than Discord how much this one year made him question his entire existence.

“Anyways, I think I finally found out why I had to stay around you,” Discord continued.

“I suppose you want to share your knowledge with me,” the reaper figured, rather observing the surroundings than honoring him with a glance.

“Oh, Obsidian. I’ve been your loyal companion for one year and you still couldn’t care less for me?” Discord wondered.

The black stallion started getting angry now. He stomped on the ground and focused the spirit of chaos and disharmony, showing his fangs.

“Why would I ever care for one of Mistress Celestia’s greatest enemies?” he asked back.

“Because we are just the same! You and I are bringers of chaos and disaster! Just your ways are more final and brutal! And besides: you can’t quite claim to have been the most loyal to your mistress lately,” Discord explained.

“I am not like you, Discord. You better stop these insults!” Obsidian growled.

“Haha! What do you want to do? As you said yourself, I don’t really exist anymore! You are more like me than you want to believe, Obsidian. And exactly that’s why I could only continue existing around you,” the spirit stated.

“What do you mean?” the reaper wondered.

“There always will be chaos and disharmony. Even if I should stop existing, chaos will always go on. You are a reaper, Obsidian. Maybe even the best of all. You spread chaos and disharmony not with powerful magic, but with your scythe. Although you won’t live for very long anymore, you still make a very capable follower of my work. Maybe I can even get you to see that demons aren’t so bad after all!” Discord explained.

“Has Maledictum Insania affected you now as well, Discord? Have you grown so insane that you do not see all the blood these creatures spill?” Obsidian wondered.

“Of course, they make quite a mess. I don’t usually agree in killing ponies either and torturing them in a level as they do, but let’s face it, Obsidian. I’m not quite in the position that allows me to complain and choose what chaos I prefer. Chaos is chaos. Soon, you will understand what I mean. When you see the things through discorded eyes,” the spirit spoke.

“Discorded ey-” the reaper started, but became unable to continue.

He felt Discord placing a finger on top of his head and casting the same spell on him he used for the keepers of harmony. A magical wave started washing over Obsidian and he could feel how the magic tried to rearrange his mind, causing him to get very dizzy and closing his eyes.

“I will make you my successor, if you want to or not! With this spell, you don’t only get my last remaining powers, but will become the monster I always wanted you to be!” Discord stated laughing while his magic affected the reaper.

The spirit kept on laughing loudly while he watched his corrupting magic wander over the reaper. Finally, the spell was done. Due to Obsidian already being entirely black, Discord couldn’t quite tell if it worked. Then, the reaper opened his eyes again. If the spell would have worked, his red eye should have turned gray now. But it still glowed red. Nothing visually changed on the reaper, confusing Discord deeply.

Obsidian slowly lifted his head. His expression hadn’t been this empty for a long time. Then he began to speak.

“Your magic does not work on me, Discord. Nothing has changed... besides one thing,” Obsidian stated.

“Huh? What thing?” Discord wondered.

“I now understand... I know why your discording spell failed on me... You can not turn a creature any darker that already is pitch black down to the very soul... I already embody disharmony in all its ways... I do not care for jokes and am greedily devouring ponies. I am a liar and traitor who makes his own friends suffer. And although I am powerful, I do not have the power to change what I am and what I do... Seriousness, greed, dishonesty, disloyalty, cruelty and powerlessness... I already am a monster...” Obsidian explained slowly, his expression drifting more and more into sadness.

Discord was speechless. He never encountered anypony able to withstand his magic, but Obsidian’s explanation made sense. There was no way to corrupt him any further. The black stallion lifted his head again, focusing the spirit.

“Are we done now?” he asked.

“I guess,” Discord replied.

“Good. Now excuse me, but I got ponies to kill,” Obsidian explained and turned around.

Suddenly, Discord started laughing again.

“Oho! Wow! Just wow, Obsidian! You surpass all my expectations! You will make for a great follower! You might not have much time left, but I’m pretty sure you will put my powers into good use until then! Now go, Obsidian! Finish your mission and leave our mark of chaos on history again!” Discord motivated.

After saying that, the spirit of chaos and disharmony was done with his work. He gave the last tiny portion of power he had left to Obsidian and nothing was left to keep him in this world. The spirit slowly faded away, laughing while he did so.

“Yes. I am a monster. But not like you, Discord. I am not like you,” the reaper spoke to himself.

Now, Obsidian knew what he had to do in order to deal with his stalker. He began to run again, but this time towards the one chasing him. He understood that the only way to win against this enemy was by losing.